George Walker: Five Sinfonias (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring  

Sinfonia No.1 (1984, revised 1996); Sinfonia No. 2 (1990); Sinfonia No. 3 (2002); Sinfonia No. 4, “Strands” (2011)”; Sinfonia N. 5, “Visions” (2016). National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. National Symphony Orchestra NSO0007

 

Once again, I have had the pleasure of discovering the music of a composer who was completely unknown to me before I was sent this release for review. This time, it is the American composer George Walker (1922-2018), who won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1996 for his work Lilacs, the first African-American composer to be so honored. That piece was for soprano soloist and orchestra; for his text, Walker set the 1865 poem, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" by poet Walt Whitman (some music lovers may recall that there is a composition by Hindemith with the same title). The Sinfonias on this new release are orchestral works, each fairly brief in duration, each bursting with energy. Conductor Noseda enthuses, “they are concise in expression, rigorous in structure, and they have their own unique sound world. I am certain that these performances confirm that George Walker is one of the great composers of recent times.”  Although the first movement of Sinfonia No. 1 strikes these ears as a bit too aggressive, the second movement (of two) and then all three movements of No. 2 are simply excellent. Sinfonia No. 3 has an air of mystery and drama about it that makes for compelling listening throughout all three movements. 

 

The final two works are both in single movements. Sinfonia No. 4, “Strands,” clocks in at under 10 minutes but never quite seems to have a clear focus. No. 5, “Visions,” is a dramatic piece, adding a piano to the orchestra as well as vocalists. The piece, which was completed in 2016, in part conveys Mr. Walker’s response to the 2015 shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. “He looked back and saw the other work he had done and thought this could be the last one,” said Gregory Walker, the older of Dr. Walker’s two sons. “And he felt an urgency about getting it out there.” Not a programmatic composer by inclination, Walker had begun work on “Visions” before the Charleston massacre occurred. But when he learned what had happened, he became determined to introduce a layer that pays tribute to the victims. Brief, elliptical texts he wrote are assigned to five solo speakers; even though they are not sung parts, the score specifies their approximate ranges (a soprano, a tenor, two baritones, and a bass). The rhythms are pounding – it is a visceral work, composed as it was in a spirit of protest. 

 

The liner notes are excellent, with extensive information about each of the Sinfonias, texts for “Visions,” biographical information about Walker plus a number of photographs, and information about the performers, all packaged in a sturdy cover. The hybrid SACD includes a stereo CD layer (which is what I auditioned), a stereo SACD layer, and a 5.0 SACD surround layer. If you are someone looking for something new and stimulating, you need look no further. This is an exciting new release.